”Hey, can we talk?” Liv asked once he reached Langa and Synn.

"I have nothing more to say to you," Langa said stubbornly.

"I just need a moment of your time to show you something." Liv looked at him desperately. “Please, I promise I'll make it worth your while.”

"A dragonkin begging for a human's attention? I never thought I'd see the day," Synn muttered, putting her bottle down.

"I'm a demigod," Liv said, turning to her sharply.

Langa sighed in annoyance. “Have you guys met?”

“We haven't been formally introduced. You must be SynnForessa,” Liv said, his face neutral, shaking her hand.

“The one and only,” she said, a contemptuous look on her face. “Nice to meet you, Liv’Kungsadu.”

“Likewise. I'm sorry I was unable to welcome you when you arrived. Did you find the accommodation to your liking?” Liv asked politely.

“Sure. I was surprised to hear you own half of this town.” She downed her bottle. “It seems like nothing changes the multiverse over, even with time. Towers are born, The Creator makes more worlds and demigods still cling to their favourite playstyle in the Towers, always paying to win.”

Liv crossed his arms before responding. “Well, it's a good thing this demigod paid for this place, otherwise, someone so deep in the red like you would have nowhere else to go,” Liv said, his tone pleasant. “Do try to steer clear of the guardsmen, will you? I mean, they listen to me, but they pay extra attention to the red players for the safety of the town.”

Synn smiled. “Of course, thanks for your concern. I don't suppose there's any sfeiera in your family’s hoard? Recovering a precious stolen foxkin heirloom like that would do wonders to improve my alignment.”

Was Langa imagining it, or were both their smiles strained?

“Afraid not. Gold is all our Nest has, and it was obtained lawfully through conquest,” Liv said tightly. “It's a shame that there are no easy fixes. You know the rules, if you kill so many people that your alignment falls into the negative, you should be prepared to do the bitter work it takes to raise it back up again.”

“I’m sure you would know,” Synn muttered.

“Not at all,” Liv said, turning away. "Langa, a moment, please."

Langa sighed again and followed him out of the tavern, mostly because he couldn't take their passive-aggressive conversation anymore.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked as Liv led him down the narrow street towards the alley where they tangled with Statia and Octavius earlier. "Is this where you wanted to bring me initially?"

"Yeah. It's just a bit further up," he said as they emerged from the alley.

This area was quiet, but there were a few old buildings scattered around. They stopped before a rundown old castle built alongside a large oak tree. Some of the bricks making up the walls were broken, and clearly, the castle had been attacked at some point.

"What is this?" Langa asked.

"Our 1st Floor guildhall," Liv said. "Every guild needs to have a physical base on every Storey they are active in. They also need a roving guildhall untethered to any Floor. Here're the extra keys to the castle."

As he took the set of rusty brown keys, Langa cast a glance at the castle. Much work needed to be done before it was turned into a guildhall.

"Liv," Langa started. "I don't want to do this with you, especially not right now."

"Hear me out," Liv said, pointing to a bench outside the castle. "Please.”

Langa debated whether he should stay and listen to him or not. The truth was, even though Liv hadn't tried as hard as he could to save Makoto, it didn't change what he needed to do to Fi Kindaro. All it did was affirm that Liv was not who he portrayed himself as, which was something Langa already knew. Now, though, he was hesitant to trust him.

“I thought about what you said, so I went to the library at Tishiba’s Peak to do some research,” Liv said, pulling out two scrolls from his inventory.

Langa raised his eyebrows as he opened the scrolls to find scribbled handwriting listing the types of guilds inside the Tower, from mercenary and rogue guilds to merchant guilds, among others. Below each type was a list of their pros and cons, along with famous guilds of that type. For the mercenary guilds, the pros were that it was easy to make money and that the guild had the freedom to hire contractors and cut them loose when not needed. The cons were that people were hesitant to trust a guild that did any job for money.

Below that was a dungeon and rift raiding guild. The pros listed included that the members would have a high chance of getting more loot directly from rifts and dungeons instead of buying them. For the cons, there were things like more time spent on dungeon exploration meant less time to climb the Tower and complete guild quests.

“What am I looking at?” Langa asked in confusion.

“You said I needed to have a plan, and now I do. You can decide what type of guild we should create. It doesn't matter to me as long as it spreads my influence, improves my alignment and Renown, and helps me get stronger,” Liv said.

Langa rolled the scrolls closed. “I said I wasn't going to follow you before,” he said, exasperated. “Did you not get that?”

“But I have a plan now—a direction for the guild. I even have the method to obtain the guild token,” he said with a frown. “Is that still not enough?”

Langa sighed. It was like talking to a child. “Sure, the lack of direction was a problem, but the main issue is that I can't trust you, Liv. I'm also not good at following anyone.”

“What can I do to make you trust me? I Chose you during the tutorial. If you don't want to be subservient to me, instead of a deputy guildmaster, I'll have you as my co-guild master. Is that better?” he asked genuinely.

"Yikes, me being in charge is even worse." Langa shook his head. “It's funny, but you're the second person to say you Chose me, and yet neither of you is telling me the whole truth of why.”

“I see, so you want to know more about me and my intentions? That is easy to fix. Remember the second favour I wanted to ask you? Can you do this quest with me?" he asked. "I promise it will help you understand me better."

A system prompt filled Langa’s vision.

[Player Liv’Kungsadu would like to share a quest with you. Accept: Y/N?]

Prove Your Worth: Quest (1)

Quest Rank: S

Any leader worth his name must build his own organisation. In order to begin your leadership journey, The Sun God would like to see what kind of leader you wish to be. Lead a party of capable players to slay the 1st Floor Boss: Funduvas the Cleaver and obtain her treasure. Quest Objectives:

-Kill the Maestril Floor Boss

-Obtain her treasure

Time Limit: 26 days (11 days left) Optional Quest Objective: Complete the Soul Trial of Trust Quest Limitations:

Level Restriction: Min 11, Max 13

Minimum Party Members: 4

Maximum Party Members: 6

Cautions: All party members must not belong to any guild. Quest Rewards:

-??? EXP

- Title (Rank dependent on contribution)

- Guild Creation Token

-??? Karma

-??? Renown

-??? Faith

Failure Penalty:

This quest cannot be repeated

Loss of The Sun God's favour

“This is my chance to prove to The Sun God that I am the right choice. The rank of the guild token will depend on the quest completion grade. During this quest, I will do the Trial of Trust with you. If we can't trust each other, we won't get the guild token,” Liv said. “What do you say? Defeating a Floor Boss will result in massive karma rewards.”

Langa was tempted to accept it as he read through the quest. “A maestril Floor Boss?” The last time he fought against a maestril had been in the tutorial, and that had been a very difficult battle.

“Yes. It's probably around level 13, which for a maestril is a little tough for us. It'll be a great way for you to challenge yourself, see how far you can go, and bring glory to your master,” Liv said as if he were laying the bait. "Once we complete this quest, we will have all the karma required to clear the 1st Floor."

“Who else is going to be doing this quest? It says you need a minimum of four people.”

“So far, I have you and Coraloa,” Liv said. “We'll find one more person and do it after the Celestial Clash.”

“I haven't agreed yet,” Langa reminded him. He leant back on the bench, undecided.

“I don't want to hear excuses or bullshit; how could you possibly know Makoto would hold me back and not make me stronger?”

Liv sighed. “My attribute allows me to see and map the Spiritual Paths of mortals. I don't see the future or anything, just the outcome for a person depending on the path they take,” he paused. “Your Paths blinded me because of how drastically different they were. There were paths where you did nothing, I don’t know if it was laziness or lack of motivation, but you wasted your potential and let opportunities pass you by. Then there were paths where you wasted your potential protecting a child with a gift too big for him from all kinds of vultures inside the Tower, losing yourself in the process. So all I did was eliminate that path for you.”

Langa could not have Liv thinking it was acceptable to play god with both Langa and Makoto’s lives. He’d punch him again, but that would just hurt his hand.

”I will make something clear to you. You don't get to decide which path is best for me. There is only one person in the infinite multiverse who decides Langa’s path in life, and that’s not you,” Langa said harshly. “Hell, it’s not even my god. I decide my life’s path. I don't fully know where that path will take me, but I live my life the way I want, regardless of what the future holds for me.”

Langa looked up into the sky. “I will go on dungeon raids, close some rifts, visit some Gates, and climb the Tower. But I might wake up craving violence, so I will hunt voidents. Sometimes I might do stupid shit, like let myself get seduced by a beautiful, strong, but evil woman, and that's fine because it's my life. Even though I know it's foolish, I might jump headfirst into a battle without planning because it's exciting. I don't care what the best or most ideal choice is. It's my life, the only choice that matters is mine. If I want to waste my life away, chasing speed and revenge or drinking alcohol and being lazy for the rest of my days, so be it. It's my choice.”

“I thought I was doing what was best for you,” Liv said.

“That's the point. You don’t get to decide, Liv. You can't play with other people's lives like that. You are not a god,” Langa said.

Liv frowned. “Maybe not yet, but I will be, and then everyone who looked down on me will be forced to bow down before me.”

“That is neither here nor there. What I need is for you to promise me that you won't try to pull my strings,” Langa said fiercely, his gaze piercing. “This is a deal-breaker for me, Liv. I refuse to be controlled by anyone, no matter how noble your intentions are.”

“I’m sorry, I don't want to control your life. I promise that I won't interfere with your path again without your consent,” Liv said, sounding sincere. “If you want me to sign a system contract saying as much, I will.”

Langa watched him for a moment, thinking. He didn't trust him; he couldn't trust him. But finding a guild that aligned with him, gave him freedom, and was strong enough to save Earth was not going to be easy. It would be better to build the guild from the ground up with Liv.

“I don't forgive you,” Langa said. “I won't, not until I take Fi Kindaro’s head and free Makoto’s soul.”

“I understand,” Liv said.

Was Liv the tyrant in the prophecy or not? Could he trust him and work with him, or should he place his faith elsewhere? He could feel Adtonifulmin's essence constantly around him, and he decided that it didn’t matter what the prophecy said, and the more he tried to resist it, the more likely he would fall into its trap.

What would happen, would happen. This was Langa’s decision, and this was the path he chose. He didn't have to trust Liv, he just needed to use his power and influence to save his home.

He looked at the scrolls and said, “An information guild sounds good. We can gather, buy, and sell information on people, places, and organisations. Synn has worked with a group like that, so she can probably help us out if we ask nicely.”

That would help him in his quest to find his family, and he may be able to learn more about the demons encroaching on the 36th Floor.

Liv tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Knowledge is a valuable commodity. We'd have to be careful, though, so we don't step on The Menika Shin guild's talons. They have the monopoly on a lot of information in the Tower."

That was a good point, and it led to something else Langa was passionate about. “We won't advertise it. It's better to gather information in secret anyway. Can we be both an information guild and a bounty-hunting guild? Bounty hunting is both a good cover and something I legitimately enjoy doing."

"Hmm," Liv hummed in concern. "It does help with making money, but remember, hunting voidents is hard if you aren't Blessed by The Unrivalled. That would limit who could join the guild."

"I'll speak to the Guardians guild master about obtaining Deiform Artefacts or how our guild members can take The Unrivalled's Blessing quest," he said.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Is all that necessary?" Liv asked.

"Liv. I told you that if you want people to follow you, you have to stand for something. I'm not just talking about hunting voidents. There are normal people the Guardians can’t go after, and the NPC law enforcement on the Floors lacks the power to take them down. People like criminal red players, and neutral players that keep their names clean by making others do their dirty work. We can have people submit names to us, or use whatever information network we create to find these people. We can do our investigation and then hunt them,” Langa said, the plan starting to make sense to him.

A guild like that would be able to garner support from both players and NPCs, steadily amassing enough power to contend against both the top guilds and whatever demons were on the 36th Floor.

Liv listened attentively. “That's good. Of course, we'd have to do some dungeon and rift raids to get some guild achievements at some point, earn some guild renown, and also make money.” He took out a magical pen and began writing on the scroll. “There have to be plenty of towns like this one owned by players; maybe if the people submit to us that they are being oppressed, we can save them, get rid of the leaders, and take over those places. That way, my name will be known throughout the Tower, and I’ll be able to get demigods on my side so I can use their power to expand my influence. Everyone will bow to me as their hero… ah, I mean to us.”

“Yeah, you can miss me with that shit. I don’t mind being in the spotlight, but I’m not changing who I am. I've seen how restrictive it can be, the Guardians are shackled to the Unrivalled’s rules, and I don't want that for myself. You're going to have to be prepared to do all the governing yourself,” Langa said.

“That’s fine. I don't know much about it, but I'll do some research and see what kind of leader people prefer, that's who I’ll become,” he agreed.

Langa glanced at him. “Are you sure that you have to wear a mask? Why not be yourself? People like a hero who's not afraid to get his hands dirty to protect them over one that's self-righteous," he told him.

"Myself? I don't even know who that is. I don't want people to follow me because they fear my power. I want them to trust me, and look up to me. A healthy dose of fear is great, but I am not my grandmother. That self-righteous hero—that's my ideal. If I play at it long enough, I believe I will become it.” There was a quiet sadness on Liv's face as he said this.

"Look, I've heard of faking it till you make it, but that's absurd. Why go this far?" Langa asked.

"I want to become the best me I can be. Besides, I don't have a choice but to play nice. There are rules I must follow in order to wield the power of The Sun God. One of them states that I must always be neutral or positively aligned. I need to be the radiant hero who reflects the Sun since I'm a paladin of light," he explained.

Langa did not have to follow any restrictive rules. He was suddenly thankful for Adtonifulmin's lackadaisical nature. "But your father is a demon god. That won't be easy for you."

Liv smiled. "I'll take it as a challenge."

"If you want to be revered, you better be prepared to be a liar. A lot of pain comes from pretending to be someone you’re not. Can you do that to yourself?” Langa asked.

Liv shrugged. “It's of no consequence. Pretending is all I’ve ever known,” he paused. "Does this mean you will be my right-hand man?"

“Liv.” Langa looked up at his friend. “If we do this, if we start our own guild, and you amass incredible amounts of power over people, promise me that you won’t let your god complex consume you and turn you into a tyrant. If I feel like you’re no better than an oppressor, I won’t hesitate to cut you loose.”

“Control is something I have a lot to learn about,” Liv said, both eyes fixed on Langa. “I don't like the person I am when I’m out of control. If I lose control and fall into the darkness, feel free to kill me.”

Langa blinked. “I'm sure it won't come to that.”

“It might. Can I be myself with you, though?" he asked.

“Of course,” Langa said with a smile. “But if you lie to me again, I’ll do more than punch you in the face.”

A slight smile graced his face. “In that case, you better invest some points in strength, because I barely felt those punches.”

“Hey!” Langa said as he bumped his shoulder.

"On a serious note, I know you're worried that this might end up being stale, and you might get bored and lose motivation, but I promise that won't happen," Liv said, looking Langa in the eye. "I will always walk ahead of you, giving you a goal. I will always give you someone to run behind, someone to compete with."

Langa exhaled shakily. Was he such an open book? He was surprised by how well Liv read him. Still, he snorted. "What happens when I surpass you?"

Liv smiled. "That will never happen. You will never catch up to me, no matter how hard you try."

"You're a conceited little shit," Langa muttered. "You act like there is this big gap between us, but I will leave you in the dust soon."

"Keep telling yourself that. Come on. Let's go back,” he said, standing up.

"Okay," Langa said, extending his fist. "Let's do the quest, form a guild and you can play hero or god all you want. You can put me down as your deputy guild master, but remember, I'm doing this as your friend, not your follower, okay?"

"Okay. If you disagree with my decisions, don't hesitate to tell me," he said.

It was very dark as they walked back towards the inn. "Since I'm a founding member of the guild, I will make my first request now. Help me save the 36th Floor," Langa said.

"From what?"

"Demons, are apparently trying to take over the world."

"Oh, Langa that's something I would do a hundred times over for free. There is nothing I love killing more than demons and demonkin who don't know their places beneath my boot," Liv told him, and there was a sinister look in his eye.

Once again, Langa wondered if this was the right decision. He did not want to worry about the future right now, though. "Alright, now that's settled," he said, stretching as they arrived in front of the inn. "Come on, buy me a drink.”

“Whoa,” Liv said, holding his hands up mock defensively. “Why would I buy you a drink? I've told you this before, but you’re not my type, man.”

“Excuse me?” Langa said as he opened the door of the tavern. “How am I not your type? Have you seen the thirsty comments on my videos?”

Liv laughed. “I'm half-dragonkin, Langa, a healthy sexual appetite is part of the deal. I never have anything more than meaningless sex. If I wanted something serious, it would be hard because I have only one type. I want someone to whom I can become the whole world. I want someone who will worship me.”

Langa stared at him blankly as he processed those absurd words and then reached out to touch his shoulder. “Liv, I say this with great concern as your friend. You have issues. You need help.”

He was sure Liv was about to retort, but before he could, a loud crash and a high-pitched scream caught both of their attention. They looked around the tavern and found the source of the commotion. A girl had fallen down with a tray in her hands in the centre of the tavern.

"Unbelievable," a derisive voice said. "Who the hell owns this dump? A serving wench should keep her eyes down and stay out of my fucking way!" The person who spoke was a blue-skinned dragonkin, and he raised his hand to strike the girl.

Before Langa could Flash Step towards her, a Flame Spike struck the dragonkin's arm, and he swatted it away, turning to look at the person who had attacked him. Immediately, his face soured.

"You?!" he glared at Synn as she leisurely walked towards him.

"I felt my Sear warning me. I should have known it was because a tiny-winged baby lizard was about to show his face in front of me," she said, her voice filled with malice. "Pity, I was having a good day too."

"Damn it all to the Duat. What now?" Liv murmured, his face screwed up in annoyance. However, when he strode forward to check on the commotion, his face displayed only concern and worry over the serving girl. The switch on his face was so instantaneous that Langa found it jarring.

This guy was a professional at pretending. Could he really trust him?

Chairs scraped along the floor as people moved away to give Synn and the dragonkin a wide berth. "Juvenile, as always, SynnForessa. I can think of something more productive you can do with that filthy tongue," he said.

"Ew," Synn said in disgust, and her Fire Ring materialised out of nowhere as the dragonkin's talons lengthened and his scales tightened around him as he prepared to attack.

"Stand down, both of you. There are NPCs in here," Liv said sharply, striding up to them.

"Make me, asswipe," Synn snapped, never taking her eyes off her opponent.

The dragonkin, however, turned an incredulous gaze at Liv and frowned. "Kungsadu," he snarled the name like it was an insult, bitter on his lips.

"It's been a while, Vavuciadsforenkka," Liv said with a pleasant smile.

He bent down and helped the serving girl up. He said something gently as the girl's eyes darted between him and the other two. At his soft tone, she relaxed, nodded, and then scrambled away, taking her tray with her.

Vavuciadsforenkka—Langa wondered why he had such a long and complicated name designed to frustrate people whenever they said it—raised his eyebrows, still looking incredulously at Liv, and then laughed.

"What the fuck is this? You're damn ridiculous, Kungsadu. You really are living as if nothing happened. What in The Living Wing's name are you doing? You're not even going to hide knowing the Dragonslayer won't rest until he gives your head to the den-mother?" Vavuciadsforenkka asked.

Liv straightened. "Considering that my grandmother is probably in a trance on the 40th Floor right now and your dear Dragonslayer is a coward, I'd say I have nothing to worry about," he said. "There's a room for you upstairs, Vavuciadsforenkka, but if you can't behave, feel free to get out of my town. If you two want to fight, by all means, create a PVP zone and stop putting innocent people in danger. No wonder you're both red."

“Piss off, this bastard owes me a pound of flesh,” Synn said, her eyes glaring at Vavuciadsforenkka.

"Do you want to kill him here?" Liv asked.

"I don't want anything," Synn snapped, and then she sighed. "You know what? Fuck this." She went back to the bar and picked up her half-finished bottle of wine. "I'm going to bed. Stay away from me, both of you."

"I think I'll find a different place to sleep tonight," Vavuciadsforenkka said, eyeing Liv in disgust. "I don't want to share space with mass murderers."

He slammed the door on his way out. Liv seemed tense even as he smiled and assured the customers that everything was fine. What was that about? Langa wondered as he saw how much Vavuciadsforenkka rattled Liv. On the surface, he looked apologetic and reassuring, but Langa could see both anger and sadness hidden beneath his surface.

Liv's fists were still clenched tightly when Langa bumped him from the side. "What are you standing around for? I believe I was promised a drink?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," he said, looking around absentmindedly. "What do you want?"

"Some brandy and a twelve-pack of lavaspritzer would be nice," Langa said, pretending to give it some deep thought.

"What?" Liv turned sharply. "Are you planning to wake up tomorrow? Will you be able to fight?"

Langa grinned. "Fine, six lavaspritzers is enough," he said, sitting down at the nearest table while Liv went to get the drinks. A mass murderer? What did the dragonkin mean when he said that?

"Thanks," he said, taking a bottle from Liv when he returned. He nodded and sat down across from him, still looking tense.

“Do you mind?” Liv asked, pulling out a black pipe from his inventory. Langa shook his head.

“You smoke?” Langa asked.

“Only when I’m stressed out,” Liv said, as he packed the bowl with crushed yellow leaves and pressed them down gently with the tamper. He lit it with a strange contraption, then took a long puff. He sighed in satisfaction.

What was in that thing? Was it nicotine or something stronger? Would smoking damage a demigod’s lungs? Langa had so many questions, but he settled on, “What are you smoking?”

“It’s astracanae leaves. They are great for calming the mind.” He held out the pipe. “It might knock you on your arse, but do you want to try?”

Langa shook his head. “Nuh, alcohol is my only drug,” he said.

As an athlete, he’d stayed away from putting anything that could impede his running into his body. Besides, he knew himself, and if he tried stimulants that got his blood pumping, he would 100% get addicted. So being an alcoholic was better. He took a swig from his lavaspritzer.

"So, who was the dragonkin with the charming personality?" he asked.

Liv's expression tightened, and he gripped the pipe. "My den-brother's protégé."

"The same den-brother who cast you away? He likes that guy?" Langa asked.

Liv puffed slowly and savoured the taste as he was starting to look more relaxed. Was whatever he was smoking starting to take effect?

"Vavuciadsforenkka is just a bully," he said quietly. "He's not a real monster."

"And you are?" Langa asked, watching him.

Liv looked up. "I'll tell you after the trial, I promise. You're the only friend I have. You deserve to know," he muttered.

That wasn't depressing at all, so Langa decided to change the subject. "Alright, who else is going to be in this guild?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't want to create a guild that just anyone can join," Liv said. "I don't want a diluted powerhouse like the Guardians with millions of weak NPCs in an attempt to make up the numbers. Most guilds have thousands of members but the number 1 guild in the Tower has less than 500 members, yet they have never lost a guild war."

"So you want a small guild of trusted elites? That's good because it eliminates the possibility of spies but we're not regressors, we're not going to know who's destined for greatn-" Langa started, then it dawned on him, and Liv smiled. "Oh, my gods. You can estimate it with your attribute, can't you?"

"Pretty much, yes," he said. "I have two people already, and I already contacted Sigurd. He said he's game as long as we can get him something good to drink. He'll be here for the festival tomorrow."

"What about Eniche?" Langa asked. She was strong, and without her tanking, they would not have been able to defeat Calpu and Karisha during the tutorial. Plus, it helped that she was driven by ambition for revenge.

But Liv immediately dismissed that option. "That's not possible. I'm not even going to try with her."

"Why?" Langa asked, and he immediately realised the reason. "Oh, is it because of your father, because of what Anarchist did?"

Liv nodded. "Yeah, Anarchist destroyed her world in my father's name, so there's no way she would...." He stopped short and eyed Langa sharply. "How did you know who my father was?"

It was only now that Langa remembered that Liv wasn't the one who told him that Aapep was his father.

"I have a title that allows me to see which deities people are bound to," Langa said without elaborating. "It said you rejected him, and I put two and two together."

"That's a problem. I don't want people to know," he said, frowning as he blew smoke from his mouth. "People aren't going to believe the son of The Demon Reaper is a hero."

"I don't know, people love to root for a rebellious hero," Langa said, wondering how long Liv was planning to keep it a secret. "Don't people from your homeworld already know? I don't see how someone like Vavuciadsforenkka would keep it a secret for you."

"My grandmother enacted a gag order on the matter because she was ashamed of... the deal she made with my father," Liv shook his head. "Besides, there aren’t many people from my world. I think there are less than 50 players in total, both demonkin and dragonkin."

Did that mean there were only 250 people in the entire world? "Okay, well, I hope you don't expect me to put up posters and start recruiting more people," Langa said, wanting to make it clear he was no hard worker. "That falls under your job description."

Liv rolled his eyes. "What's your job in this guild, exactly, Mr Deputy guild master?"

"To do cool shit," Langa said, opening his third bottle. He was feeling buzzed.

"Unbelievable. Well, don't worry, I already hired a recruiter. Oh!" Liv started, then looked up at the stairs and waved someone over. "Hey, Coraloa, please come over here."

Langa turned to see a woman with pale grey, scaly skin coming down the stairs towards them. Her face was thin with a grey skin tone and her eyes were a dark yellow. She was a striking mermaid with long, flowing green hair that shone like seaweed.

"Liv, thanks for inviting me here. The room you prepared for me is quite lovely," she said when she reached them. "It's a pity I won't be spending much time in it."

Liv laughed. "Whatever makes you comfortable. Langa, this is Coraloa," he said, and then, giving Langa a look that seemed to tell him to play along, he continued, "This is my good friend Langa. You've heard of him, right? Like you, he's an ally of the innocent."

"Yes. It's nice to meet you, Coraloa," Langa said, extending his hand. An ally of the innocent? What the hell did that mean? What role was Liv playing now?

"Hi," Coraloa said, taking his hand graciously, then she frowned at Liv. “You're smoking again? You know that's bad for the air lucents, right?” she said crossing her arms as she watched him.

“Sorry,” Liv said, a smile tugging his lips as he patted the seat next to him.

Coraloa rolled her eyes and took it, sitting very close to him. "So, Liv has told me a lot of good things about you,” she said.

"He did?" Langa asked, downing another bottle as he watched the two of them.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I admire you very much. Liv said that you singlehandedly defeated a maestril mini-boss before Tier 1 and that you were instrumental in saving him and your teammates during the two boss fights!"

This just confused Langa further, and he raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He glanced at Liv. "Why are you on my dick, Liv? I thought you said I wasn't your type."

Liv relit his pipe and smiled lazily, placing an arm around Coraloa’s shoulders. "Just a warning, Coraloa, you might want to keep your ears closed around him. He's a good guy but he can be crude with his words."

Coraloa laughed. "I see."

"How do the two of you know each other?" Langa asked.

"We were placed in Menika Shin's territory close by after the tutorial. I must say, even though they are the top guild in this Tower, they do nothing for their territories," she said in disapproval. "Liv did the right thing liberating this town from them. Isn't he just the most selfless person you know?"

Selfless, Liv? The guy who wanted to use people's support to become a god? What the fuck was he playing at? Liberating? Hadn't Liv said he bought this place because it was dirt cheap from its previous attacks? Langa glanced at the woman. She did not seem like someone who would be inclined to worship him, but she was pretty, so maybe Liv was playing it up to get laid.

She seemed comfortable, leaning on him. Liv’s eyes were unfocused, hands tracing Coraloa’s arms. Whatever was in that pipe had him spaced out.

"So, Langa, AD Jandri tells me it's thanks to you that she was able to find the location I needed to lead a Guardians raid team in taking out an Accari Crows voi-den on Backgriff Mountain," she said. "I'd been trying to find it for so long that I was losing hope."

Langa looked at Coraloa with newfound interest. She must have been the one Jandri had gone to recruit under The Unrivalled's orders. She was supposed to join the Guardians as soon as she completed her Blessing quest. "I'm glad I could help with the voidents. I hope there weren't any children there."

A dark look crossed the mermaid's face as she shook her head. "There were no children, thankfully, but I did find signs of a ritual that took place last month. It made me sick to my stomach," she said.

Langa sighed. At least she captured the voidents, and they wouldn't be hurting any more innocent people. He finished his last bottle of lavaspritzer. He did not want to continue thinking about voidents as his mind inevitably went back to that pit filled with dead children, and it made his anger rise, the darkness in the Brand stirring awake.

Just then, a sea chameleon with beautifully patterned skin climbed onto Langa's leg. The chameleon's eyes looked up at Langa, who was both surprised and a little freaked out by the unexpected visitor. "What the fuck?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I hope he's not bothering you," Coraloa said. "That's one of my summons. He doesn't cost much mana, so I usually just keep him with me."

Langa relaxed, gently petting the chameleon once it climbed on the table. "He's not bothering me at all." He'd always had a way with small animals, for some reason. "What's his name?"

Coraloa smiled. "Fulimi," she said. "He's named after a legendary creature that used to protect my world under its shell armour. According to legends, it gained sentience and Ascended."

"Really? I've never heard of that story," Liv said, randomly joining the conversation as he leaned back on the chair and took another long puff from his pipe, closing his eyes in contentment. "He doesn't look like he's ready for anything but sleep."

He was right as the chameleon yawned, climbed onto Coraloa's lap, and closed its eyes.

"Look at you, not a care in the world. You know, it's your fault that humans have to die," Langa said, looking down at it.

"What?" Liv asked in confusion.

"You've never heard the story? It was one of the first folktales my father told me about," he said.

"Is it a legend from your world?" Coraloa asked with interest. "How does it go?

Legend? It was just a folktale passed around in the fire. "It's nothing fancy. Basically, a long time ago, UMdali sent the chameleon to tell humans that they would live forever. Unfortunately, it was a sunny day, and the chameleon took a break to bask under the sun and fell asleep. While he slept, UMdali changed his mind and sent the lizard to tell humans that they were mortal and would all die one day. By the time the chameleon woke up, the lizard had already completed his task. So, humans die because the chameleon was too late."

"Who's UMdali?" Liv asked, pulling out more crushed leaves and packing the bowl of his pipe. "Is that your world's patron deity?"

"No, not exactly. I guess, going by Tower lore, he would be The Creator," Langa said after thinking about it for a moment.

Coraloa snorted. "There's no way that's a real legend. The Creator doesn't concern herself with the life and death of mortals. Praise her karma, of course, but all she does is create worlds upon worlds, mortals upon mortals. She doesn't care to govern us," she said passionately. "If it wasn't for The Unrivalled, mortals would be doomed to live in chaos forever."

"Well, to each their own god, I guess," Langa yawned. He was half-drunk and it had been a long day. "It was nice to meet you, Coraloa, but I should go to bed. See you tomorrow, Liv."

There was a big battle tomorrow, after all, and he wanted to be well rested.